


In the Ocean, My Truth Stays

by Innocentfighter



Series: Gratsulu Week 2018 [1]
Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Emotional Conversations, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Magic, Multi, Polyamory, Post-Canon, Secret Identity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-15
Updated: 2018-04-15
Packaged: 2019-04-23 12:02:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,971
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14332065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Innocentfighter/pseuds/Innocentfighter
Summary: Lucy tells Natsu and Gray the story about how she lost Aquarius





	In the Ocean, My Truth Stays

**Author's Note:**

> I meant to do all of the days for Gratsulu week, but I didn't get any done but this one, so maybe in the future, I'll finish them. Also, the summary is a work in progress but ties it up nicely.

Lucy jumped awake after hearing her door bang against the wall. She prayed she wouldn’t find a hole in the plaster again, her landlady would kill her. There was a couple of seconds of peace and Lucy used them to check the time. It was earlier than normal for the boys to already be causing this much noise. Natsu burst into her bedroom, yelling about something. She sent him an unimpressed glare.

Natsu was completely unaffected, “we’re going on a mission!”

Gray wandered in at a much calmer pace, “it’s an overnight mission. The train is supposed to get into the town late.”

Natsu paled, “can’t we walk there?”

“There’s no easy way to get to the town by foot. Erza told you this already.”

Lucy moved away from her bed as the two mages began bickering. The room’s temperature began to differ, she sighed, “no magic in the bedroom.”

Her warning was respected but as soon as she turned her back she could hear a crash. She decided to ignore it and made her way to the bathroom grabbing a towel and some underclothes. Despite herself, she smiled fondly.

Fifteen minutes later she returned to her bedroom, the towel wrapped around her body. Surprisingly nothing had been broken and only a few things had tumbled off the bookshelf.

Gray perked up from what he was reading, which Lucy noted was her manuscript, and smiled at her warmly. He looked so relaxed at the moment that Lucy decided that she wasn’t going to get into a yelling match about him reading her novel _._ It was a draft of one that she wasn’t going to finish, _serves him right._

“So, what exactly is this mission?” Lucy moved towards her dresser.

“Some wizarding cult popped up at this backwater coastal village. They’re demanding tributes that the villagers can’t afford,” Gray answered.

Lucy hummed pulling out two pairs of shorts and debating which one she wanted to wear. She finally decided on the green pair, “sounds easy.”

Gray went back to her manuscript, “Erza says there’s a lot of them, so that’s why she wants the whole team. Besides Aquarius could probably wipe them out in a second, being near the ocean and all.”

Lucy stilled, her silence was long enough that Gray looked back up at her. She quickly schooled her features and ignored the way her heart twisted at the thought of her friend. It had been a long time since she had to correct her own thought about being able to use Aquarius in combat.

“Well, let’s hope everything goes smoothly!”

Gray’s eyes focused on her, and Lucy forced herself to smile brighter, “maybe Natsu won’t destroy half the tow this time.”

Natsu’s return to the bedroom distracted Gray, and Lucy shoved the second pair into her bag. She grabbed a red tank top and tugged it over her head. It was enough of a barrier that she let her smile fade. Truthfully, she wasn’t sure why she hadn’t told Natsu and Gray about Aquarius, half of her wanted to think that it was because there hadn’t been time after Tartaros, but both had shared their scars a couple of nights after they had been reunited.

            The other half of her thought that this was her burden to bear. She had made her choice to save her friends by sacrificing another one of her friends. That wasn’t the Fairy Tail way, everyone else always figured out how to save someone without having to sacrifice someone else.

            “Hey, Lucy?” Natsu’s voice sounded confused, “did you get stuck in your shirt?”

            Lucy blushed and pulled the shirt the rest of the way on.

            “Maybe she was debating about wearing one,” Gray snickered.

            “You wish,” she said ignoring the leer, “when does the train leave?”

            Natsu whined as Gray answered, “about an hour.”

            Lucy eyed them as she tossed a yellow striped shirt into her bag. It was probably her imagination but Natsu looked like he was worried. She shook that thought off and brushed her hair into a ponytail. Both Natsu and Gray eyes traveled up her neck.

            She had never understood their fascination with her neck, but she wasn’t above using it to distract them from her strange mood, “then we should probably head that direction.”

            Natsu pulled her back against him and shoved his nose into the crook of her neck. She smiled softly as he began to kiss up it, pausing at her jaw and nosing at the space behind her ear. Lucy lifted her hand and flicked it to signal for Gray to join them. The ice mage moved slowly watching the scene with affectionate eyes.

            Gray carefully wrapped his arms around her waist and pressed a kiss to her head then to her lips. Natsu kissed Gray after he pulled away, and then turned his attention back to Lucy. She had grown used to being in the middle, and she still couldn’t get over the fact that she had this back. Never again would she take their relationship for granted.

            They had learned to savor every moment that they had together. She basked in the aura of affection, attempting to push away the melancholy. Lucy knew she had to get into mission mode, the last thing she wanted was for someone to get hurt because she was stuck in the past.

            Natsu pulled away first, but Gray held on for a couple more seconds and then backed off. Lucy bent down to pick up her bag and to give her boys a private moment together. As she stood up her gaze fell on where the end of Aquarius’ key was tucked away.

            _I barely think about it for months and Gray says her name once and it feels like it just happened._

            “Ready?” She turned around and grinned.

            “Yeah,” Gray smirks.

            “Let’s kick some cultist ass!” Natsu’s hands were on fire.

            “No magic in the bedroom!”

* * *

* * *

            Lucy was almost grateful for the wizards hiding in the trees. She knew that the others would question her on why she didn’t use Aquarius especially since they were by the water. So, she took the opportunity to fight away from the water, it was a cheap excuse but a necessary one. If the cultist in the trees weren’t taken care of the rest would be overwhelmed. She caught Wendy’s eye and the younger dragon slayer nodded in understanding. Wendy moved to cover the gap that she left in the defense. Lucy smiled, that girl was really growing up.

            “Open! Gate of the Lion, Loke!” She then spun the key towards herself, “star dress!”

            “Radiant as always Lucy,” Loke eyed her appreciatively.

            Lucy was glad that she was by herself because she was sure that either Gray or Natsu would have caused a fight with her spirit, even in the middle of a battle.

            Loke turned serious, “are you all right?”

            “I will be, it’s just a bad day,” Lucy sighed.

            Loke’s frown deepened, “are you sure?”

            She smiled. After Tartaros, Loke had been there for her, helping with her grief and with the renewed feelings of abandonment that Natsu and Gray had indirectly caused. Her smile fell, she was going to have to have a talk with them and hopefully, keep Loke from going after them judging by the look he was sending towards the beach.

            “Loke,” she pointed towards the trees, “cultists.”

            The spirit nodded, “can we- “

            “Later.”                                       

            It was enough of a reassurance that Loke sprang into action. Lucy was a second behind him. Light from Loke’s attack illuminated the forest, he was attacking with a single-minded focus. Lucy mirrored her spirits movements taking out her own opponents. There was a particularly stubborn one that was standing up after being knocked out in the initial volley.  Lucy noticed and leaped in the way of the wizard’s attack.

            She yelped in pain as pointed stones collided with her side and then rolled back onto her feet using the momentum from her fall. Lucy lashed out with her whip, wrapping around the wizard’s ankle and tugged to yank him off balance.

            Loke turned around and jumped onto the wizard’s chest pressing him into the ground. The spirit’s eyes glinted dangerously, and Lucy took the break in the action to press a hand to her side. She winced at the pressure and pulled her hand away quickly. It was covered in blood, and she gasped in surprise.

            “Lucy?” Loke turned his attention back to her.

            As soon as he saw the blood he rushed over to her side, Lucy belatedly realized that all the cultists had been taken out. Loke’s hands were fluttering over her side, and she had enough sense to dismiss the outfit.

            “That doesn’t look good,” Loke murmured.

            She looked down at her side and saw that there were two gashes crisscrossing her ribs. They looked deep and blood oozed out of them at an alarming rate. Lucy knew that she had to get to Wendy before she lost too much blood, but walking was out of the question.

            “Loke, go get Wendy.”

            His hands stilled, “and leave you in the woods? These cultists could wake up at any moment!”

            She hadn’t thought about that, cautiously she nodded, “you’re right.”

            Loke took that as permission to lift her up in a bridal carry. The movement pulled on her injuries and she let out a soft whine, the noise jarred Loke into action and he moved through the forest at a rapid pace. To her surprise, although she knew her spirits often went out of their way to protect her, Loke’s stride was even and he was careful to not jar her body.

            They burst through the tree line, and Lucy looked at the beach to see that only the cult’s leadership was still standing and judging by the amount of power that Gray and Natsu were releasing those fights weren’t going to last much longer. Wendy, having seen her run into the woods, was watching them when they arrived.

            “Lucy!”

            Wendy’s outburst caught the attention of Erza who’s eyes widened at the sight. Lucy was thankful that the noise didn’t disturb the two fighting. She couldn’t bear it if they got injured because they were worried about her injuries. They were likely to earn themselves life-threatening injuries worrying about her less severe ones.

            Loke was seemingly encouraged by the sight of the other Fairy Tail mages, and his pace picked up. His suit was beginning to rub the wrong way against the cuts, but she was careful to not let out a noise of distress. She _knew_ that would catch Natsu’s attention. Wendy rushed to meet them in the middle, and Erza was trailing behind but she kept an eye on the two fights.

            Lucy felt herself be set down on the grass, Wendy’s healing magic was already soothing the burn in her injuries. Although her focus was starting to drift, and she could make out noises, someone was yelling. The pull of sleep was too much for her to ignore. _Gray, Natsu, be safe._

* * *

* * *

            When Lucy awoke, she could tell it was night from the way the light was bathing everything in silver. The ceiling was unfamiliar, and she could hear two sets of breaths. It set her on edge, so she carefully turned her head to get a better view of who was in the room with her. Lucy relaxed immediately as soon as she saw pink hair.

            Natsu was resting awkwardly on the bed, half of him was still a chair that happened to be in the room, but his head was propped up on his crossed arms next to her shoulder. Lucy smiled, the dragon slayer had probably started completely in the chair. She paused eyes widening in realization, carefully she turned her head away from Natsu trying not to wake him up. As she suspected Gray was on the other side.

            Gray’s back was pressed against the bed, one arm reaching towards her, palm upturned. His head was craned back awkwardly so that it was resting on the edge of the bed. Lucy winced, knowing that he was going to wake up stiff. At least he couldn’t feel cold because Gray was dressed only in his boxers and the night was significantly cooler than the day, even under several blankets Lucy could feel the chill and it made her shiver.

            She must have made a noise because suddenly she was staring into a dark blue eye. Lucy watched as the sleep slowly faded and the awareness that she was awake crept in. Behind her, she could hear Natsu groaning as he stirred. As usual, the boys were on the same wavelength, they would deny it if she ever said it out loud, but they always reacted to the same thing.

            “How are you feeling, Lucy?” Natsu asked.

            Lucy rolled back over to face him, even as her side ached. Wendy evidently hadn’t had enough energy to fully heal her wound, but at least it wasn’t bleeding anymore.

 “I’m feeling better, still kind of tired,” she replied honestly.

            Natsu nodded, concern growing bright in his eyes. Shuffling noises came from the side Gray was on and Lucy felt the bed dip underneath his weight. Suddenly, Gray’s head was resting on her shoulder and she could barely make out his eyes, so she turned slightly and saw that he was avoiding looking at her. That action made her frown, wondering what was wrong with him.

            “Glad to hear it,” Natsu climbed into the bed as well.

            The chill that Lucy had been feeling was no longer an issue with the heat that the fire mage was radiating, even with Gray at her back she was comfortable. She glanced back at Gray, wondering why he hadn’t said anything yet. Natsu didn’t seem bothered by it with how he was looking at her. Lucy was about to say something when Gray finally spoke up.

            “Why did you go after them alone?”

            She knew that it wasn’t a jab at her strength, there was a time when she would have thought that, but she frowned at the question regardless. Lucy supposed it was a fair question, considering it wasn’t like her to act rashly but she didn’t think she could tell them the real reason.

            “I was the only one that saw them,” she shrugged gently, “so I went after them, it looked like you had everything handled at the shore.”

            Natsu hummed in agreement, but Gray was still tense at her back, “but you could have grabbed one of us.”

            “I have my spirits, so I wasn’t really alone. Besides if one of you had left there would have been one less person fighting the main force, which was a hard-enough fight.”

            “Still,” Gray mumbled.         

            Lucy smiled softly, “it’s okay, everything turned out fine. Injuries are bound to happen.”

            Both Natsu and Gray looked at her sharply and then in unison, “not to you.”

            Lucy blinked in surprise and then furrowed her brow in confusion, “what?”

            “You shouldn’t be getting hurt,” Natsu elaborated, “usually you avoid the worse of the damage. You aren’t reckless like us.”

            “I had to save Loke,” she replied.

            Natsu didn’t’ seem to like the thought, but his frown lessened somewhat. Gray had still been strangely quiet. Lucy turned her attention back to him, she knew his mood wasn’t completely due to her injury. She thought back to yesterday morning when her mood had been weird. _That’s probably it, he thinks there’s something else wrong._

            Almost as if he was reading her thoughts, Gray spoke, “are you all right?”

            “Eh? I told you, I’m feeling better,” she furrowed her brow.

            “You’ve been acting strangely,” Gray was shaking his head.

            _It was only yesterday wasn’t it?_ Lucy thought about it, she might have been acting more depressed considering the time of year, it was nearing the anniversary of her mother’s death. She assumed that they would be used to it by now, and then shook her head. They hadn’t been around long enough to notice a pattern. Tenrou had taken a lot from them, more than she initially assumed that it would.

            “It’s nothing really,” she’d tell them about Aquarius when they got back, “it’s just the time of year.”

            Gray nodded, seeming to understand what she was implying. Natsu wrapped his arms around her in a show of comfort and pulled her against him. The move left Gray floundering for a second as his perch was removed from him. He recovered quickly and settled himself along her back. Lucy wrapped her hand around Natsu’s shirt and made an awkward grabbing motion with her other hand until Gray wrapped his arms around her waist and she could cover one of his hands.

            She fell into a more restful sleep with both of her boys wrapped around her.

* * *

* * *

            It was only a few hours after their conversation that Erza was banging on their door. Lucy pushed herself into a sitting position, relieved that her side no longer hurt at the movement. Natsu whined and tried to pull her back into the bed, she smiled at him and then turned to see that Gray had already moved to answer the door.

            Erza pushed past him with a soft good morning before she turned her attention towards her, “Lucy, I’m glad to see you’re awake.”

            Lucy smiled, “yeah! Morning Erza.”

            The noise woke Natsu up, he rubbed his eyes before noticing that Erza was in the room, “hey Erza.”

            “Good morning Natsu,” Erza nodded, “I just came to check on Lucy and tell you our train leaves at noon.”

            Natsu paled and Lucy rubbed a hand on his shoulder in comfort. Truthfully, she wasn’t looking forward to traveling today either, but she didn’t let it show.

            “Do you need Wendy to heal you further?” Erza asked.

            She shook her head, “no, I don’t think so it only hurts when I move too fast.”

            Gray looked back at her and then down to where she had been injured, Lucy followed his gaze and saw that there were still two faint scars haloed by a ring of yellow bruising. She was certain that it wouldn’t scar, but it didn’t escape her notice that it would match the scar on Gray’s side. It was a weird sentiment.

            Erza stayed for a couple more minutes, making small talk with Gray. Lucy knew that it was also to make sure that she was healthy enough for travel. She slid out of bed and stretched, careful of her injury, and made her way towards her bag.

            “I think I’ll shower,” she said before disappearing into the bathroom with her clothes and a new towel.

            The shower temperature didn’t go as hot as she would like, but it was warm enough to wash off the remaining aches from yesterday. Lucy wondered how she was going to break the news about Aquarius to them, it really was long enough ago that she didn’t want to bring up those memories again. That time was painful enough for everyone but holding it in any longer was going to affect her health. It didn’t matter as much when she didn’t have a guild that would understand how much losing a spirit hurt her. Besides she was sure that Aquarius wouldn’t want her suffering.

            Her eyes widened, she had promised Loke that they would talk. Lucy frowned wondering if she could get away from the others long enough to have a full conversation with the spirit, she would also have to reassure him that she was fine. They could deal with her being away from them for an hour. Providing they had the time before the train.

            She finished her shower and quickly changed before she went back into the main room. Lucy blinked at the scene before she shuddered at the atmosphere, apparently, Erza had left as she wasn’t attempting to provide damage control. Natsu was holding Loke against a wall, and Gray was sprawled out on the other side of the bed as if he had been shoved over it. Lucy blinked and tilted her head, unsure of how to proceed.

            “Don’t put words into Lucy’s mouth!” Natsu yelled.

            “I’m not, you’re just too dense to realize what you did to her!” Loke growled, “you left before the guild disbanded!”

            _Oh no._ Lucy swallowed trying to find the words to stop this before something got thrown out into the open.

            “And you,” Loke was now addressing Gray, “took off with Juvia, not even a day after!”

            “L-loke,” she managed, but it was too quiet for him to hear.

            “Both of you left Lucy alone, without a reason-“

            “Loke! That’s enough!”

            All three males jumped in surprise at her outburst. Natsu’s grip slackened enough that Loke was able to drop to the floor, slowly they met her eyes. Lucy crossed her arms and tried not to let the anger get the best of her, she wasn’t entirely sure who she was angrier at herself, Loke, or the other two for their actions.

            “Princess,” Loke murmured, “I was just coming to check on you after yesterday- “

            Some of her anger faded away, she should’ve expected that as soon as he was free Loke would come check on her. The conflict likely sprung because she hadn’t been in the room, she was glad that the lion spirit had enough sense to not appear in the bathroom. That was a fight she didn’t want to be near.

            “Loke, come with me,” she began to walk towards the door.

            Gray finally seemed to pull himself out of his shock, “wait, Lucy- “

            “We’ll talk when I get back, right now I need to talk to Loke first,” she replied.

            Loke seemed to hesitate before following her. Natsu was still staring at the bathroom door blankly like he was trying to piece things together. Lucy winced, she really hadn’t wanted to have this conversation where they didn’t have enough space to give each other space if they needed it.

            She walked for several minutes before finally stopping in a mostly deserted park. Loke looked uncomfortable, but there was still worry in his eyes.

            “Loke, what was going on in there?” Somehow, she managed to keep her voice level.

            “I don’t really know,” Loke sighed, “I came to check on you, but you had already gone to take a shower. Natsu said something, and it just set me off.”

            “Was he trying to start a fight?” Lucy wouldn’t put it past the dragon slayer.

            “Not this time, it was just a casual comment about your relationship,” Loke frowned, looking at the grass with sad eyes, “it just made me mad. He hurt you so much, they both did leaving like that.”

            Lucy nodded, she wasn’t about to deny it.

            Loke stood up suddenly, lashing out with his foot, “I can’t understand why you welcomed them back like that, even Gray acted like he had switched sides when you were reunited.”

            “I love them,” Lucy shrugged, “I felt like we could move past it after we talked about it, but then things happened, and we never got the chance.”

            “So, you forgave them without explaining what they did wrong,” Loke eyed her, “how is that fair to you?”

            She nodded, “it isn’t, but they didn’t know, couldn’t know what I lost because of Tartaros.”

            Loke nodded, “I suppose, but still- “

            “Yeah.”

            They sat in silence. Lucy was thinking about how she was going to address everything, and how she was going to talk about it. She shook her head, she wasn’t worried about the consequences of their discussion, she had faith in their bond. It was just- she paused her train of thought she wasn’t sure what was holding her back now. Maybe her own cowardice, or maybe how she hated that to save everyone she had to lose something.

            Lucy stood up, causing Loke to turn around in surprise. The lion raised an eyebrow at her, and she grinned, “thanks, Loke.”

            “What?”

            “You gave me the best opening for this conversation I’ve had in a while.”

            Loke blinked, “huh?”

            She was about to walk back to the hotel, but Loke caught her wrist, Lucy turned back around in surprise.

            “I wanted to talk about how you were doing, but I can see that for my own eyes,” Loke was suddenly serious, “the Spirit King gave me permission to tell you one thing: Aquarius’ key is reformed, its back on Earthland.”

            Her eyes widened, and tears began to fall. As much as she wanted to be Aquarius’ contract holder again, she hadn’t thought that she would have the chance so soon. It was that moment that she heard feet pounding down the cobblestones. Lucy kept her gaze leveled at Loke.

            “Are you serious?” She breathed.

            “Yeah, except no one knows where,” Loke looked apologetic.

            Lucy had assumed as much, and even if they had more than likely the Spirit King wouldn’t have given his permission for her to hear where it was, that’s not how earning the keys worked. She could only hope she found the key before anyone else.

            “Lucy!” She blinked, and more tears fell.

            “Lucy!”

            Finally, she turned around to see both Gray and Natsu running towards her. Natsu’s face shifted from a grin to anger as he caught sight of her tears, she stood still as Natsu blew past her. Lucy turned quickly and managed to wrap a hand around his wrist, slipping as his force dragged her forward. Natsu let himself be pulled backward, and she wrapped her arms around his chest until she could feel that he was calming down. Gray had caught up and was holding his hands together, so he could cast a moment’s notice.

            “What the hell Loke? You show up and spout some weird crap, and then when we meet up Lucy’s crying!”

            “It isn’t like that Natsu,” she mumbled, “Loke do mind leaving for now?”

            Loke began to glow gold, “call me for anything princess.”

            Once the lion was gone, Natsu calmed down dramatically. He turned around in her hold, not quite pulling away, but enough that he could see her face. His frown deepened.

            “Why are you crying?” Gray asked.

            Lucy unwound herself from Natsu so that she could rest a hand on her eyes, and she could feel her spirits giving her support. She wiped her eyes, “it isn’t like that.”

            Natsu tilted his head, “Loke didn’t make you cry?”

            She laughed lightly, “well, I guess it’s like that, but not for any bad reason.”

            Gray crossed his arms, “so then what was the reason?”

            Lucy’s smile fell, wondering how the best way to phrase her answer. Hopefully, her tears of joy wouldn’t turn into ones of sorrow, “it’s kind of a complicated story.”

            “We still have a couple of hours before the train, can you finish it by then, or do you want to wait?” Gray raised an eyebrow.

            Natsu started to protest, “wait, I want to hear it now!”

            Lucy played with her key ring, “let’s wait until we get back home.”

            Gray grabbed her hand, “okay, we’ll wait until you’re ready.”

            “I wanna hear it now if it makes Lucy sad- “Natsu was cut off by Gray smacking his head, “hey!”

            “Leave it for now,” Gray glared at Natsu.

            “You didn’t have to hit me, Ice Princess!”

            “You were going to blurt out something insensitive!”

            Lucy held up both of her hands in a placating gesture, knowing that this was going to end up in a fight. The pair was slowly inching towards each other. She sighed as they pressed their heads together.

            “I was not!”

            “You always do!”

            They were pushing at each other, and it made her wish for Erza to intervene. If those two went at it, then there would be damage to the town, which they had managed to avoid so far this job.

            “Guys,” she tried.

            They ignored her and kept shoving at each other.

            “At least I can keep my clothes on.”

            Gray looked down, but for once didn’t act surprised that he was half naked, “well at least I don’t have ash for brains!”

            “Hey, calm down,” she could see the crowd starting to form.

            Once Natsu threw the first punch, Lucy decided that she was going to have to intervene. Lucy swung her leg up and into Natsu’s exposed back, sending both him and Gray flying. They landed several feet away in a heap.

            Gray managed to look sheepish, “sorry, Lucy.”

            It took Natsu a couple of seconds more to get the same look, “yeah, sorry we were gonna cause a scene.”

            Lucy smiled at them, while she was annoyed that they were going to fight, but she knew that even though they were together if those two suddenly got along most of the time she wouldn’t know how to act. It would be too similar to how Natsu said Edo-Natsu and Edo-Gray acted, simply speaking it would just be weird.

            “Let’s go get something to eat before we have to go back to the hotel and pack,” she held out her hands to them.

* * *

* * *

            The train ride back was strangely quiet, Natsu had long since fallen into an uneasy sleep and only groaned occasionally. Gray was pressed against the window, not asleep because Lucy could tell his breathing hadn’t evened out, but she knew better than to disturb him since he was probably thinking about something deeply. Erza had stepped out to stretch her legs and dragged Wendy along, more than likely it was to escape the tension. Happy was curled on Natsu’s chest also asleep and Carla had left with Wendy. Usually, Lucy would be grateful for the quiet, half the time it was rarer than a golden key, but now it only served to stretch her frayed nerves.

            She slowly ran a hand through Natsu’s hair, knowing that it made him feel marginally better. Despite it not being there, Aquarius’ key hung heavy on her ring, Lucy let herself think that it was her spirit urging her to go and reclaim it. That was a mission she would have to spend weeks preparing, and it would take even longer for her to convince Gray and Natsu she needed to go alone. Part of her wanted to dip out on them like they had done to her, but she couldn’t inflict that pain on them. A bitter part of her mind reminded her that they would have each other and Fairy Tail to seek comfort from, it wouldn’t be the same.

            Gray cracked open an eye, and she could see the question there. Lucy figured that she must’ve sighed externally, she smiled back at him. The smile put him on guard rather than throwing him off like she had expected. It had been a long time since she could do that to either of them if it had ever really worked in the first place, she wasn’t entirely sure Natsu hadn’t just let it go in favor of giving her space. She smiled more genuinely at that, it would be something that he would do, and she knew he wasn’t a complete idiot despite what his actions said.

            Lucy ignored Gray’s questioning stare and eventually, he deemed that it was something he didn’t have to worry about now. Erza slid the door back open, her eyes going between the trio before settling back down beside Gray. The re-quip mage was starting to grow suspicious of them, Lucy could tell, she knew that sooner rather than later the whole guild was going to have to learn what she did to rescue them. Especially once she set out to find Aquarius, she was going to need the help of Cana and Levy to at least find a place to start, even though she had vague ideas of where her mom found the key.

            “We’re nearly to Magnolia,” Erza proclaimed suddenly, “I’ll give the report to Master, the rest of you return home.”

            She was glad that she could get into her bed sooner, it wasn’t like she didn’t want to see the rest of the guild, but her side was starting to ache. Gray seemed to notice her slight wince, and Lucy had to wonder when he had opened his eyes back up. She also had to wonder where his shirt went, since it was on two minutes ago.

            Erza was talking again, “Lucy, rest up once we get back. We’ll take another job once you feel better.”

            Natsu stirred and one eye slid open as if he sensed the conversation was talking about Lucy’s pain. Immediately the eye closed and he let out a long whine, Lucy continued to run a hand through his hair. His whining slowly died out into a low groan, Natsu was reaching his limit of transportation. Gray even sparred him a sympathetic glance and the air temperature lowered.

            Erza looked between the two boys fondly, “half an hour until we’re home.”

            Wendy shifted on the bench, and Lucy was surprised she hadn’t seen the dragon slayer enter, “Lucy how’s your side?”

            “Its still a little tender, but I can handle it,” Lucy smiled.

            “I can heal it more,” Wendy replied, “it’s no trouble.”

            Lucy shook her head, “its fine really. It’ll be fine in a day or so it’s really not worth spending the energy on.”

            The youngest dragon slayer nodded, but she was looking at the spot with some concern. Lucy wondered how bad the injury truly was, Gray and Natsu had been calm about her moving around on her own and carrying things so she hadn’t thought it was any serious injury. Usually, when she was heavily injured it was hell getting away from them. They still got overprotective if they had a nightmare about the Grand Magic Games, especially Natsu, he’d nearly lost them both that day (he did if you got rid of technicalities). So, she had no idea what Wendy hadn’t told them.

            Erza filled the silence now, deeming the quiet train ride was over. She was talking about how relieved she was that they had managed to avoid excessive property damage. Lucy was surprised as well when she walked through the down she only saw one building that was completely collapsed and that was because one of the cultists had burned it down themselves. It was a good thing that she had gotten injured at the end of the fight.

            “Fish!” Happy cried suddenly, causing the awake mages to jump in surprise.

            The cat didn’t seem to notice the reactions he was getting as he yawned and rubbed at his eyes, “I’m hungry.”

            “You can come back to the dorms with me and Carla, I have some fish,” Wendy said, and Carla looked mildly offended that Happy was going to be tagging along.

            “Aye, sir!” Happy didn’t seem to notice.

            Lucy tilted her head, wondering what was bothering Wendy. Had either of the boys said something to her about their discussion they planned to have? It wasn’t unheard of, but Lucy doubted they had sought out a third-party’s opinion already. That meant the others had noticed something or they were guessing something was off with her. She supposed it was obvious, she hadn’t pulled Aquarius out in months even though she had ample opportunities too.

            She was able to hold back a sigh and turned her attention to the passing countryside. When she was younger she would have given anything to be able to travel as freely as she did now, and had she known what she would encounter, Lucy was sure she would make the same choice to leave the Heartfillia lifestyle behind. Anything was better than living in that household with Jude as he had been.

            Time passed quickly, and she tilted forward as the train slowed to a stop. Natsu was already beginning to perk up with the promise that he would soon be free of the train. Gray’s attention had shifted back towards her, and Lucy continued to stubbornly stare out of the window until they pulled into the station. She briefly wondered how hard it would be to disappear before they had to have the conversation.

            It probably wouldn’t be worth the hassle. She’d get as far as the edge of town before Natsu would be hurling himself at her followed by an equally distressed but outwardly calm Gray. At least that’s what she imagined would happen, considering that’s what they did when they found out she had gone back to Heartfillia Manor.

            That was also her fault for leaving such a horribly vague note. _Natsu’s_ note was more comprehensive than her’s, it at least gave a promise that he would be back.

            “It is good to be back in Magnolia,” Erza said suddenly, “no matter how short the mission, to return home is a great feeling.”

            Lucy nodded absentmindedly. She usually agreed it was nice to see the town she now considered home, she typically didn’t have a problem with it, but since the guild disbanded there were days she felt like Crocus had been better to her.

            They stepped onto the platform, and Lucy took a few steps further to give her space to move through some of the anxiety. She smiled at a familiar face and waited until Natsu was able to collect himself from the heap Gray tossed him into. She turned back around to help Natsu steady himself.

            Happy was flying around the ill dragon slayer simultaneously making fun of him and making sure that he was all right. Lucy smiled at the sight.

            “Well, I’ll be heading back to the guild now,” Erza claimed, “Wendy I’ll walk you back to Fairy Hills.”

            “Sure!” Wendy smiled, “bye everyone!”

            “Bye Wendy! See you tomorrow!” Lucy raised her hand and waved.

            Happy hadn’t moved to follow them, and Lucy sent him a curious glance. He was probably still worried about Natsu. She smiled, at least being in love hadn’t changed his priorities.

            Lucy and Gray waited a couple of more minutes for Natsu’s legs to stand steadier before they began the walk back to Strawberry street. To avoid awkwardness Lucy acted as she always did, by balancing on the ledge next to the water. Whenever she would teeter dangerously to one side, Natsu and Gray would tense. She knew that they would catch her whichever way she fell, but she also believed that she had good enough balance that she could recover.

            The walk itself was nice, the tenseness from the train faded away, and in the early summer weather, the scent of flowers was faint on the breeze. It was just cool enough to be refreshing and there was barely any humidity. Lucy could look up and make out several constellations due to the clear sky.

            There was something wrong with it being such a nice night.

            Finally, they ended up at her apartment, Gray held out a hand to help her down which she took, after thanking him softly. Natsu had already made his way to her apartment, which made Lucy roll her eyes in fondness. The apartment was slightly stuffy because of the stale air, so Lucy moved into her bedroom to open a window.

            Alone for the first time since the park, she took a moment to breathe. Lucy could make out noises coming from the kitchen as Gray attempted to gather ingredients to make dinner while Natsu and Happy attempted to eat everything. It was familiar noise by now, sometimes it was her in the kitchen arguing with them to let her cook other times it was them trying to stop Natsu from cooking. She looked back through the open door and could make out the glow of flames flickering against the wall.

            Her doubts from before faded to only a minor presence. There was no reason for them to get mad at her and whatever guilt she carried, she would always carry until she could properly apologize to Aquarius. Lucy looked to the shelf where the key remained hidden and safe. Gray’s loud grunt made her reach towards the case.

            She hadn’t held the key in months, not since Fairy Tail had reformed. Lucy looked at the case before glancing at the burns on her hand from Jackal and the intense magic it took to summon the Celestial Spirit King. She opened reverently, swallowing thickly at the sight of the broken key, some of its gleam was gone and Aquarius’ symbol had faded into black marks as the magic dispersed.

            Gingerly she picked up the end of the key and slid it into the pocket nearest to her other keys. Lucy placed the case on her desk and spared one look to the box of letters to her mom. _I wonder if you would have done the same?_

            She returned to the main room to see Natsu had been thrown out of the kitchen successfully, and he was sulking by the opening. Happy had come away victorious with two fish, the exceed was thrilled.

            “I’m going to go give one to Carla!” He exclaimed, before sprouting his wings.

            “Are you staying with Wendy tonight?” Lucy called after him.

            “Maybe!” The exceed flew out of the window.

            She rolled her eyes in fake annoyance, “I don’t want to leave my window unlocked unless I have to.”

            Natsu blinked, “you do that all the time.”

            _Yeah, because you’d just break it to break in._

            Gray poked his head out of the kitchen, “dinner should be ready soon. Natsu set up the table, for once.”

            “What do you mean for once? I do my share of the work, ice cube!”

            “After Lucy and I tell you half a million times, flame brain!”

            “That’s not true!” Natsu spat back.

            Lucy walked over to the slayer and laid a hand on his shoulder, he quieted somewhat at the contact, raising his arm to press into her palm. It was a nice trick she was glad she had, and it worked with Gray as well. She could only imagine the face she would have made if someone told her the calming effect she would have on the two of them when she first joined the guild. No one would have believed it, certainly not Gray or Natsu.

            Maybe Mira, because she was uncannily perceptive like that. Lucy shuddered thinking back to the days before she and her boys had been together. Yeah, Mira would have believed it.

            “You okay Lucy?” Natsu was close to her face, making snuffling sounds.

            “Stop sniffing me,” she complained half-heartedly, “and I’ve just been thinking a lot about the past recently.”

            Natsu compromised by pressing his face into the junction of her neck and just breathing, “yeah? What about it?”

            “Oh, you know, this and that. The happy times and the sad times.”

            “Why the sad times?” She could make out a slit of green as he angled his head slightly.

            Lucy shrugged, “sometimes you have to think about them.”

            Natsu went back to just breathing in her neck, and she laughed as his breath tickled her neck. Gray was making noise in the kitchen, cursing softly at the heat of the plates. Slowly, Lucy pushed Natsu away who complied so that she could help Gray if he needed it.

            “Do you need help?” Lucy asked grabbing one of the side dishes.

            Gray only raised an eyebrow and didn’t answer dealing with the oven, attempting to turn it off without overturning any of the half-full pots on the stove top. Lucy headed back out to the dining table to see that it was already set up in their usual spots. Carefully, so she wouldn’t chip the ceramic, she set the dish down. Natsu pushed something else aside, and Lucy saw Gray setting the main dish out.

            The dish was some northern meat dish she was unfamiliar with. Gray in recent weeks had taken to cooking meals that he remembered from his home country, and it was something that she valued. Her mother’s baking recipes were still collecting dust in the back of her closet. Maybe she should try to find the orange cake recipe that was her favorite growing up.

            Gray had already returned with the remaining two dishes. She smiled in thanks before settling down at the table. Natsu was piling the meat dish high on his plate already, and Gray was narrowing his eyes in annoyance.

            “What?” Natsu barely paused his actions, “it smelled good, and not like it would poison us.”

            “I’m eating it, so why would I poison it?” Gray muttered, but Lucy could see the red on his ears, “and Lucy is eating it too, so I definitely wouldn’t poison it.”

            Lucy flushed, and she flicked her bangs out to cover some of the blush. Natsu was smacking his lips together, “you’re right.”

            It was touching, and she had to reach for a side of vegetables to try and cover how flustered she was. She peeked through an opening in her bangs to see both Gray and Natsu grinning at her. _They totally planned this._ She flicked her bangs up and pouted.

            Natsu reached over the table and poked her in the cheek. Lucy turned her head further away and was successful in her attempt at ignoring them for half a minute before her stomach growled loudly as she finally smelled the food.

            It only made their grins wider, and she started to shovel food on her plate attempting to look dignified. Even after all this time, she still couldn’t shake the manners she had to have when eating with her father or any of his guests or any of the servants that were hired specifically to make sure she was acting as a lady should. Finally, Gray was able to get his own serving.

            “Hey! This actually tastes good!”

            Gray scowled, “why do you sound surprised? You said it smelled good!”  
            “I said it smelled like you didn’t poison it,” Natsu replied.

            “No, you said it smelled good,” Gray countered.

            Natsu looked towards Lucy for help, “tell him, Luce!”

            She finished chewing before replying, “I distinctly remember you said it smelled good.”

            “Traitor!” Natsu pouted and shoved potatoes in his mouth.

            “How am I traitor if I’m just giving you the truth?” She pondered.

            “Because you’re totally making it up!”

            Lucy shook her head, “celestial mages don’t lie.”

            “Hah!” Gray cheered.

            Natsu’s lips turned down and Lucy quickly lifted her plate off the table as Natsu launched something towards Gray. She stood up and walked several feet away just as Gray recovered enough to wipe the food from his face.

            “Don’t waste food!”

            “Don’t bribe Lucy!”

            She rolled her eyes, “can’t we have a peaceful dinner?”

            They both ignored her, seeming to get into an eating contest with each other. Lucy grimaced as the food was sent flying around the dining room, most of it ended up on the table but some ended on the floor. She was grateful that the splatter zone hadn’t extended to the wall, otherwise, she’d be covered, and she wasn’t ready to take a bath yet.

            She managed to finish her first plate by the time the other two were on their fourth serving. Lucy’s stomach hurt at the thought of the amount of food they had eaten. It wasn’t anything unusual, and they both had large pools of magic, so she assumed that it had something to do with their never-ending appetite. The speed eating contest had slowed down some, food was no longer flying at odd angles. Lucy braved the table to collect the empty plates and used napkins.

            The sink was still filled with dishes from their breakfast the day they left. She sighed and started the water before deciding that she was going to make Natsu pick up his slack, but in the morning. Once she returned to the dining room she could see that the plates had been stacked up, semi-neatly and the food was mostly cleaned up.

            She picked up the stack of dishes, before sparing a glance around the main room. Soft voices were coming from the bedroom, and Lucy guessed that they were getting changed for bed. Quickly she dumped them into the sink, careful not to chip this set, and poured soap into the basin. As soon as she was happy with the number of bubbles built up she headed back towards the bedroom.

            Gray and Natsu were laying in opposite directions on the bed, their feet by the other’s head, but they both looked in her direction as soon as she entered.

            “You had something you wanted to talk about?” Gray asked quietly.

            “Yeah,” she nodded, and then hesitated, “but let’s talk on the couch.”

            If the two were confused, it didn’t show on their faces. They tripped over each other as they attempted to climb out of bed. Natsu landed face first on the ground, and Gray stumbled over him but managed to regain his balance. Lucy raised her eyes towards the heavens wondering why everything with them was a competition.

            She followed them out towards the living room, turning off the lights until there was only a table lamp on. It gave her some cover to sit in the shadows caused by the lack of light. The only spot left on the couch was the middle cushion and she paused looking at it. Her chair, while more uncomfortable to sit in would give her enough space to breathe. As much as she loved being in the middle, it left her vulnerable.

            Lucy settled in the chair and pulled her knees up to her chest as a barrier. Aquarius’ key was slipping out of her pocket from the angle and she dropped a hand to grab it before she brought her arm around to wrap around her legs. Twin dark gazes watched her, and she could see the concern marring the surface of their faces. She looked away and towards the lone picture she had of the Heartfillia family.

            “Lu, what’s been getting you down?” Natsu asked he was leaning forward like he wanted to reach out and grab her.

            Unwarranted she thought about missing his hand by centimeters in Tartaros. She knew now that it would have resulted in her getting trapped like the rest of the guild, but it still hurt knowing that she couldn’t protect him or comfort him at that moment.

            “Luce?” He prompted.

            It did her no good to keep letting her memories run rampant, she inhaled deeply and released the breath slowly, but did not raise her gaze to meet them. Instead, it lingered on the pink guild mark, stark against her pale skin.

            “Remember when we were fighting Tartaros and everyone got trapped in that red stuff?” She began.

            “Yeah, it came out of nowhere,” Gray mumbled.

            “I couldn’t catch you before you fell down that hole,” Natsu said.

            Lucy nodded in affirmation, “I was the only one that didn’t get trapped by the spell.”

            “I knew you saved us!”

            She shrunk further but didn’t lose her courage, “I don’t know how I avoided it. Luck I guess, but I was all alone surrounded by demons. I knew I had to save everyone, but I had no idea how to do that.”

            “Does this have something to do with why you were so beat up?” Gray asked.

            “More or less,” she answered vaguely, “water came out of nowhere and Mard Greer had told everyone that the person that killed me would be promoted to a demon gate. So, demons came out of nowhere, including that weird rabbit girl.”

            Lucy spared Natsu and Gray a glance, and she could see that they were fully focused on her, so she took another deep breath and continued, “then one of the nine demon gates showed up. I was doing fine, I had two gates open, so I was running low on magic energy, but it wasn’t my limit. Then Jackal showed up.”

            She heard a sharp intake of breath that she knew came from Natsu. Gray had been spared fighting against that demon.

            “I only had my whip, which did nothing against him. It did more damage to me. So, I summoned Aquarius.”

            Gray whistled, “three gates back then?”

            The burning that had been behind her eyes was getting worse and she pressed her face back into her knees, “Aquarius, Loke, and Virgo were powerless against them. They got hurt protecting me. I knew once they were gone I was done for, I was barely conscious. Once Loke and Virgo were sent back to the spirit world it was easier, but I didn’t have any energy left.”

            Lucy felt tears start to run down her face, and she was grateful that her voice hadn’t broken yet, “I couldn’t even beat one opponent- I had no idea how I was supposed to save everyone, Jackal would have killed me. He was about to kill me.”

            “How-?” Gray broke his question off, she could hear a tremor in his voice.

            “Aquarius, when she had been injured hadn’t faded, she held Jackal back, but it took all of her strength to do so. She told… she told me the only way to…to- “

            Lucy let out a long breath trying to collect herself, she only needed to get past this part. Her break was longer than she thought she would need. Finally, her breathing was somewhat even, “Aquarius told me the only way to save everyone was to summon the Celestial Spirit King.”

            “You summoned him?” Gray and Natsu cried at the same time.

            Lucy nodded, “yeah, but- “

            Natsu’s voice was soft, “Lucy, how did you summon him? Don’t you have to have contracts or keys?”

            She was surprised for a second before she realized that while Natsu was an idiot most of the time, he was observant, and she had explained her magic enough times for him to understand it. It made it harder for her to continue the story.

            “You can summon him even though he doesn’t have a key, however, the summoner has to sacrifice a gold gate key.”

            Lucy let the sentence hang in the air, gathering her strength, “Aquarius told me to break hers, that it was the only way to save everyone.”

            “I didn’t want to, Aquarius was my first friend, she was one of the last ties I have to my mother,” her tears were coming faster, “but I couldn’t let everyone die!”

            She felt a pain in her palm, and Lucy belatedly realized that she was holding Aquarius’ key. It was cutting into her palm, but she couldn’t bring herself to lessen her grip, it was too much like letting her go all over again. The room narrowed to the pain and her tears. Just as suddenly as the guilt overtook her she felt something warm on the top of her head.

            She knew it was Natsu because it was warm, and suddenly she was being pulled into his chest. Lucy felt herself being pulled forward, and her feet dragged on the floor before she was settled on something far more comfortable than the chair. She couldn’t stop crying, even as Natsu rearranged himself so that Lucy was laying on top of him, her hands were pulling at his shirt unwilling to let it go. Something cold was suddenly pressed against her back, and Gray’s hand was tracing down her arm until it reached the hand holding Aquarius’ key. He didn’t move to take it, but Lucy felt her grip slackening on it.

            Her hand cramped with the sudden lack of tenseness, but she was too focused on what Gray was doing. He had grabbed the end of the key and set it carefully on the table, and then his coldness disappeared along with his footsteps. Unsure of what his plan was Lucy allowed herself to be calmed by Natsu’s hand running through her hair, the tears still weren’t stopping, but the began to flow slower.

            She could only wonder if it would have been this easy to handle if they had stuck around for more than a day after Tartaros. Maybe she could have healed more evenly.

            Gray’s footsteps returned, and she turned her head enough to catch Gray’s face as he began to clean her palm, it must not have been cut too deeply because he was only using water, but it still stung. His eyes were focused on the task which made it hard for Lucy to gauge what his emotional state was. Trusting that he would do a decent enough job, she decided that she’d get her information from Natsu’s face.

            The dragon slayer was staring at something on the wall, and she tensed wondering what it meant that neither of them would look her in the eyes. Lucy had a brief stab of fear that her refusal to look them in the eyes meant that she blamed them.

            “I don’t blame you,” her voice was muffled by Natsu’s shirt.

            Gray’s head snapped up, “what?”

            “I don’t blame you, the choice to break Aquarius’ key was mine,” she whispered, “so don’t blame yourselves.”

            Natsu’s hand stilled, which drew her attention. There was a small ember of anger burning in his eyes, “I knew you had to do something crazy to save us, but I never thought- “

            She waited for him to finish his thought, but when he didn’t Gray stood up to set the medical supplies on the table before rejoining the pile on the couch. The conversation paused as they maneuvered themselves to have as much contact as possible, Lucy ended up pressed against the back of the couch, her body running alongside Natsu’s and Gray was sprawled mostly on top of Natsu, but his arm was around her shoulders and a foot was placed between hers.

            It wasn’t exactly comfortable, but Lucy felt safe.

            “Thank you,” Gray said.

            Lucy frowned, but Gray was continuing, “I’m grateful you saved us, I never wondered how. I should have asked earlier. You were so beat up, I thought… I thought when I woke up that something awful had happened to you.”

            “Gray?”

            “Your star dress, it changes the feeling of your magical power, and at that time it was faint,” Gray was playing with the ends of her hair, “so when I woke up I couldn’t make out your magical presence.”

            She heard the guilt in his voice, “but you couldn’t have known that it would have been that kind of sacrifice.”

            “You’re right,” Gray mumbled, “but I should have known to ask how you saved us. Or how you got in that state, I was too caught up in losing my dad for the second time afterward.”

            “Gray- “

            “Ice princess is right,” Natsu’s voice had taken on a dangerous edge, but Lucy knew that it wasn’t directed towards them, “we should have asked. I knew you had to do something crazy to save us, that’s how you’ve always done it in the past. Beyond that, I should have asked you how you were doing after the battle.”

            “Natsu- “

            He cut her off with a shaky voice, “I thought I had failed in saving you, my last memory was me losing grip on your hand. Your scent was so faint that I couldn’t track you down, but then I smelled Aquarius. Her scent lead me to you, and once I could see you I could smell you and blood. A lot of it.”

            Lucy looked at the pair, wondering what was happening. She knew on some level that they weren’t going to be mad at her for sacrificing Aquarius, but she thought there would be some fallout. You don’t sacrifice your friends like that, at least not in Fairy Tail. She also didn’t want them to feel guilty.

            Lucy tightened her uninjured hand, “it isn’t your fault, we all lost something because of Tartaros.”

            “We did,” Natsu replied, “but that doesn’t mean we should have let our comrades suffer.”

            “Why didn’t you tell us sooner?” Gray shifted, and Natsu winced at the elbow he received in the side.

            A bitter laugh escaped her before she could stop it, “when was there time?”

            “What do you mean?”

            Lucy shot Natsu a look, but then reigned in her feelings, they were all too emotional to curb their tongues if this got into an argument, “that night you left to go on your year-long training with Happy.”

            Natsu’s eyes widened, and Gray shot him a look before his eyes widened, “and I locked myself in my apartment.”

            She nodded, “we were all grieving, and then when we all met up again there was just so much happening and now that things were finally calming down I didn’t want to bring up that time.”

            “You should have,” Gray said, “we hurt you, and we need to apologize for it. We also need to thank you, without your strength, none of us would be alive today.”

            “My strength?” She blinked.

            Natsu somehow shifted so that he was closer to their faces, and he pressed a light kiss on her head, “yes your strength. We both know how badly it hurts you when one of your spirits get hurt, I can’t imagine how much it must’ve hurt to break Aqaurius’ key. You did that for us, you stood back up afterward and kept fighting.”

            Gray leaned towards her ear, and whispered, “You’re stronger than you know, Lucy, and every day I am awed by it.”

            Lucy’s mouth fell open in shock with their blunt words. She realized she hadn’t cried in a couple of minutes, but the hurt was still in her heart. This wasn’t how she expected the conversation to go, she thought that they would skirt around the topic of her being too weak to save the guild under her own power, that she had to get help from the King of the Celestial Spirit World.

            “I get why Loke was so mad earlier,” Natsu said suddenly, “Luce, I am so sorry that I left you like that. Had I known- “

            “You needed the time,” Lucy countered, “there was no way you could have known. It does no one any good to put their emotions on hold for other people.”

            She realized that she should have followed her own advice, and Lucy silently promised to never let things get this bad again. The mood was starting to get at her again, and deciding that she didn’t want to cry again, she tried to change the mood.

            “Besides, Aquarius’ key has already reformed. I just need to find it again.”

            Natsu and Gray gave her a strange look. She nodded as if it was just to confirm the answer to their question.

            “Loke, told me earlier, it’s somewhere back on Earthland, so I want to find it as soon as possible,” she smiled slightly.

            Natsu’s grin grew to a familiar width, “we’ll help you!”

            Gray nodded, “just tell us when you want us to go.”

            Lucy’s smile brightened, and more tears started to fall down her face, she quickly rubbed a hand over her eyes to try and stop them. At least she was happy this time.

            “Thank you, I love you both so much.”

            “Love you,” Gray’s smile was small

            “I love you too!” Natsu cheered, “and ice princess too.”

            It surprised both Gray and Lucy, usually, Natsu was less verbal about his affection for the ice mage and Gray was the same in kind. For a second Gray didn’t say anything before he pushed up Natsu’s body and landed a kiss on his lips, which the dragon slayer returned enthusiastically. Lucy felt peace return to her, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw Aquarius’ key sparkle.

            She puffed out her cheeks in mock annoyance, “jeez, I’m the one that needs to be comforted here!”

            Gray and Natsu broke apart, and the in-sync bastards moved together and pressed one kiss each on the opposites of her cheek. Then she was being lifted off Natsu due to Gray leaning back, and the dragon slayer moved off the couch only to pull Lucy back into his arms once he was standing fully.

            Natsu held her steady with one hand underneath Lucy’s butt, she wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist, mostly holding her own weight. Gray was then pulled under Natsu’s arm and they were both steered in the direction of the bedroom. There was a half struggle from Gray, and Lucy shifted enough that she could reach over and tug at his ear in a mockery of Erza’s usual way of separating them.

            Natsu laughed and then tossed Lucy onto the bed. She bounced and then frowned when the button of her shorts poked into her belly.

            “We need to change, we’ll get the sheets dirty!”

            Gray solved the problem by stripping himself down into his boxers. Lucy rolled her eyes at the old habit but decided that she really didn’t want to break the aura that fell between them. Her clothes joined Gray’s on the floor. Natsu spent a second admiring them before shedding his own clothes and climbing into the bed with them. His presence made her feel even safer tonight, and she could tell it affected Gray the same as the ice mage was already half asleep.

            Lucy was lulled to sleep by Gray’s even breathing and the slight shuffling sounds that Natsu made as he helped to rearrange them into a comfortable position. He was practically covering her and Gray with his body, but for once Lucy couldn’t find it in her to complain about being crushed. Before she drifted off she swore she heard Natsu speak.

            “I’ll won’t let anyone hurt you two that badly again.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed, as always leave your thoughts below and let me know about any major errors I've made!


End file.
